Sisters & Lovers
by threeredcardinals
Summary: This new demi-god may be more trouble than she's worth...long oneshot that I wrote a very long time ago. Please R&R!


**Long oneshot that I wrote a verrrrryyyy long time ago, so I apologize if it's not up to my usual par. Please read & review! **

**All rights go to Rick Riordan. **

It was just about evening when we arrived at Westhall, a boarding school in Maryland. The sky loomed, dark and threatening, over us as we pulled open the heavy oak door. We had received a call from Grover, my best friend and satyr, the day before and Chiron had sent Annabeth and I as quickly as he could. Grover had located a half-blood, and from what Chrion could understand from his chattered ramblings on the Iris-message, she was powerful.

Annabeth let the door slam close behind her, and the sound echoed loudly. She gave me a nervous glance, and I felt my pocket to make sure Riptide, my pen sword, was still there.

"Hello?" She called. "Grover?" Grover had said he meet us by the entrance at five thirty. It was five thirty-three.

There was a loud crash behind us, and we whipped around, Annabeth's knife in her hand and Riptide in mine. Instead of a monster, there stood Grover, a crumpled suit of armor at his feet.

"Oops," he said, standing it right side up and tentatively patting its breast plate. "There, uh, all better."

"Grover!" Annabeth said, exasperated. "Where were you?" She didn't give him time to even open his mouth before she kept talking. "Oh, never mind that. We need to find this girl and get her to camp." Grover looked at me, and I gave him a lop-sided grin.

"Hey, she's in charge, not me." I said, and Annabeth sighed.

"Both of you, honestly!" She exclaimed. Turning to Grover, he shrunk back slightly. "Now, Grover. Tell us about this girl."

"She's fourteen. She's got this. . .this aura. It's overwhelming. Even the mortal students can feel it, they all stay away from her. I talk to her when I can, but I think she's suspicious." He blushed, and I felt like there was more to the story, but didn't pry.

"All right then, where is she?" I asked.

"Probably in the dining hall. But Percy, there's something you should know before you see her. I think she's-"

But Grover never got to tell me. Suddenly, a scream split the silence, and I was running before I told myself to. Something was wrong. "Wait! Percy!" Grover struggled to catch up to me and Annabeth.

We came to a turn, and Annabeth stopped, looking around wildly. "Which way, Grover?" She asked urgently.

"Th-that way." He pointed down the left hall. "Away from the cafeteria." Sword in hand, I charged down the hall. We reached the end of the hall, and I skidded to a stop. A huge hellhound crouched, ready to pounce, but it wasn't looking at us. Instead, it was focused on someone else: trapped in the dead end of the hallway was a tall girl, around fourteen or fifteen, with long blonde hair and huge blue-green eyes. But instead of looking fearful or terrified, she had a flicker of fire in her eyes, determination. Without waiting, Annabeth lunged forward.

"Back!" She yelled, thrusting her celestial bronze knife into the hound's hindquarters. It yelped and whipped around, snarling. The girl's eyes grew wide.

"Who-" But she never got to ask. At the sound of her voice, the hellhound averted its attention from Annabeth back to the girl, raised a huge paw, and swiped at her. The girl tumbled clear with surprising agility, then sprung back to her feet. Grover was right- she was different. Very different.

"Hey!" I yelled, grabbing the hellhound's attention once more. It looked over its shoulder at me, teeth bared. I thrust Riptide into the hound's thick hide, piercing it easily. It roared with pain and lunged, its teeth snapping shut inches to my right. I sliced at its nose and the blow connected, its muzzle now bleeding freely. It snarled with frustration, whipping around with great speed. Annabeth brought her knife down on its paw, and it limped backwards, yowling. Meanwhile, Grover had whipped out his reed pipes and started playing a crazy song, the tempo uneven. The hellhound started to sway with the music, staggering to the side.

I crept around the one side, but suddenly the hound had a moment of clarity. It tossed its heavy head, connecting with Grover. He flew to the opposite wall and lay there, motionless.

"Grover!" I cried, but the hound was no longer confused. It stepped towards me, pinning me against the wall. It growled menacingly, and I brought Riptide across my chest. "Get back!" I cried, brandishing the sword. I checked it across its muzzle, lengthening the other gash. A deep rumble emanated from its chest and suddenly it lunged forward, and I felt Riptide yanked from my hands.

"No!" I yelled, but my sword torn from my grasp, flew across the room, and landed on the floor with a clatter, narrowly missing Annabeth, who had to tumble out of the way to avoid it.

The hellhound's sharp jaws were inches from me, and I was cornered. Grover was most likely unconscious, Annabeth was too far away, and the poor Westhall girl was probably confused and scared.

Suddenly, I felt something. A tug, deep down in my gut. Water. I glanced around frantically and there, in one of the corners of the hall, was a water fountain. Squeezing my eyes shut tight, I willed the water to come towards me. I could feel it gathering, coursing through the network of tubes in the fountain, closer, closer- _NOW! _I thought as hard as I could, and the water exploded outwards. I guided it with willpower to arch towards the hellhound. It smacked into the hound's side, and it screeched and whipped around to face its new attacker. I sent the water shooting into the hound's face, eyes, nose, mouth. It gurgled and spat, but it was overwhelmed by the frothing water. I aimed best I could at its mouth, and every time it opened I sent gallons rushing down its throat, unrelenting. Finally, the soaked hellhound let loose a howl and collapsed. There was a flash of sandy light, and the hound was gone.

"You okay, Annabeth?" I asked. She was on her feet again, crouching next to Grover.

"Yep. I think Grover's gonna be okay, too." She patted his chest. "Grover. Wake up. Grover!"

Grover blinked sleepily, then propped himself up on his elbow. "Huh? Whosere? Whasat? Food?"

I laughed, and Annabeth grinned. "Yup, he'll be just fine." Turning to the girl (who I had long forgotten about) Annabeth smiled and stood up. "Hi, I'm Annabeth." She extended her hand and the girl shook it, then let her arm hang loose by her side.

"And I'm Percy." I said, giving her the best smile I could muster.

"I'm Marie." She hesitated, then looked at both of us. "What- what was that? The giant dog thing?"

"That was a hellhound." Annabeth said. "From the Underworld."

Marie blinked. "The Underworld?"

"Marie, this is kind of hard to explain, but you know about the Greek gods?" I stepped towards her, and she nodded. "Well, they're real." She cocked her head to one side, looking at Annabeth.

"So what does that have to do with me?" Her eyes narrowed. I glanced at Annabeth and she took over. I was surprised at how calm this girl was. Most of the newbies went into immediate denial when we said the gods were real.

"You see, sometimes the gods have children with mortals, er, humans, and their child is called a demi-god, or half-blood. We believe," she glanced at Grover, who was sitting up and rubbing his head, "We think you may be a half-blood. We are."

"Me? Part god? No, that's-" Marie suddenly stopped. "Oh."

"What are you thinking, Marie?" Annabeth asked kindly.

"Well, I- wait. Who's your god parent?" Marie asked briskly.

Annabeth was surprised, but answered anyway. "Me? My mother is Athena, goddess of wisdom and war strategy."

"And what about you?" She asked. Marie looked me in the eyes for the first time, and I felt startled. I felt something -some sort of a connection- to this girl. The depths of her stormy gray-green eyes, the swirls of blue in them. They reminded me of the sea.

"My father is Poseidon, god of the seas and horses."

"Well," Marie said slowly. "I've always had this. . .this _thing _with horses. I- I know this sounds crazy, but I can talk to them. In my head." She hurried through her explanation. "And I can read their thoughts and emotions and how they're feeling and- and I've always had this thing with water, I can make it do what I want. Kinda like what you did with that water fountain." She blushed as she gestured to the puddles on the floor. "I've never told anyone this before. You must think I'm crazy."

I looked at Annabeth, and found she was staring intently at me. As if she could read my thoughts, she nodded. I took a deep breath and looked at Marie. "Well, I'm not exactly sure how to say this, but. . .well, it's nice to meet you, sister."

Marie looked at me, eyes wide. "You- you mean- Poseidon's my _father?_" She said incredulously. "You mean you can change into one too?" Her tone was extremely excited.

"Wait, wait. Turn into what?" I frowned.

"Well, I-" She backed a few steps away from us. "Look." There was a bright flash of light and suddenly, standing before us, was the biggest Pegasus I had ever seen. It was bright white, with huge wings that must have had a wingspan of ten feet, if not larger. It pawed the ground and tossed its massive head.

"See what I mean?" The Pegasus said excitedly. "Can you turn into a Pegasus too, Percy?"

Bewildered, I realized Marie was the Pegasus. "Um, no. No, I can't turn into a Pegasus." I looked at Annabeth again, only to see she, too, was slack-jawed. There was another flash of golden light and Marie was standing before us again in human form, a slight pout on her face.

"Aw. Why not?"

"I don't know. I don't if I've ever heard of a demi-god that could turn into an animal."

Marie bit her lip. "So does what does that mean?"

"We're not entirely sure," Annabeth said. "But when we get back to camp, we'll ask Chiron."

"Chiron?"

"He's- well, you'll see." I said vaguely, and Marie just shrugged it off.

"So, how are we getting back to this camp of yours?"

We all looked at Grover, who appeared sheepish. "Well, you see, ah, I didn't actually arrange any kind of transportation, so, uh-"

"I think we'll be okay," Marie said. "I can take you back."

Annabeth looked taken aback. "You? How?"

"You can ride me. We'll fly back." Marie shrugged again. "I've never tried it before, but I think it should be just fine." There was a flash of light, and she was a Pegasus once more. It knelt and spoke. "Well, come on. Climb on."

I exchanged looks with Annabeth. "Well, if Grover didn't get us a ride-"

"Hey!" He exclaimed.

"-we might as well." I finished, and Annabeth nodded. She clambered onto Marie's broad back and settled herself, her legs hooked over the wing joints and her fingers knitted through the horse's thick mane. I followed her, resting my hands lightly on Annabeth's waist. She didn't acknowledge it, so I decided it was probably okay. Grover got on behind me, grabbing my shoulders a little tighter than he intended.

Marie rose to her hooves. "You guys seem to know what you're doing," she grunted, spreading her wings experimentally.

"Yeah, we have Pegasuses at camp. And normal horses, of course," Annabeth said absentmindedly. "Are you sure you can support all three of us?"

"Of course." Marie clip-clopped back down the hall as quietly as she could, then nudged the door open with her muzzle.

"All clear!" Grover whispered.

"Right then." Marie shoved free of the entryway and into the darkness, spread her wings, and took to the air. Now, I had ridden on a Pegasus before. Blackjack, my favorite steed, was the best getaway ride ever, and one of my best friends. Horse friends, that is. I could talk to them too. I wondered if I could talk to my newly-found sister in her head? I shook my own to clear my thoughts. It was still extremely hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I had a sister. A _sister_! Suddenly, a thought struck me.

"Marie?"

"Yeah, Percy?" I felt Annabeth stiffen beneath my grip, which I thought was odd.

"How old are you, fourteen?"

"Well," she said. "I guess, but well, something really odd happened to me. I went into this place, and it felt like I was there for a couple hours, but it turned out I was there for, like, years-"

"The Lotus Casino," Annabeth, Grover and I said in unison.

"-and then some lawyer guy came and got me out."

"Just like Bianca and Nico." Annabeth mused.

"So, do you think she was born before the pact of the Big Three?"

"Probably," Annabeth reasoned. "If she really was in there that long. Chiron will know." We stayed silent after that, except for the occasional directions to Marie. Before long, the lights from Camp Half-blood shone below us.

"Where should I land?" Marie asked, circling over the strawberry fields.

"Um-"

"In front of the Big House."

"Right." Marie spiraled lower and landed softly in front of the porch steps of the Big House. We dismounted quickly just as Chiron came bursting out of the house.

"You made it!" Chiron was in his normal form, a centaur. He had a bow slung over his back and a big smile on his bearded face, which faded quickly. "Where's the girl? Where did you get the Pegasus from?"

"Well, it's kinda complicated, but the Pegasus _is _the girl. Chiron, meet my sister, Marie." I explained.

Marie changed back into human form and smiled sweetly at Chiron. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Chiron, sir."

Chiron was speechless. "A transforming half-blood? Gods, this is new. Well then, in you go, all of you." He herded us into the house and sat us down at the large wooden table in the main room. At one end sat a pudgy man in a loud Hawaiian shirt, a Coca-Cola can in his hand. His soft appearance didn't fool me. I had seen Dionysus's powerful wrath before, and I didn't wish to again anytime soon. He eyed Marie critically as she sat down.

"Well," he said, going right to the point. "Who's brat are you?" Chiron sucked in a breath but didn't say anything.

Marie shifted in her chair, and I noticed a fire flickering in her eyes, just like when we were facing the hellhound. "I don't know my mother, but Poseidon is my father."

Mr. D seemed taken aback for a moment, before an evil grin spread across his face. "Well, well. Another bastard child, eh? Born during the pact. Old Zeus isn't going to be too happy about that. Neither will Hades, mind you." He sat back in his chair, pleased.

"Actually, Lord Dionysus, Percy, Grover and I have figured that she has born before the pact. She was a victim of the Lotus Casino, like Hades's children." Annabeth said matter-of-factly, wiping the smirk off of Mr. D's face. Meanwhile, as Annabeth called him 'Dionysus', Marie's eyes had widened, leaning forward in her chair.

Chiron turned to Marie. "Child, can you remember anything before being put in the Lotus Casino?"

"I, uh, hold on." She squeezed her eyes shut tight for a few moments. Suddenly, they popped open again. "Yes! Yes, I can!"

"What is it, then?" Mr. D asked impatiently.

"Well, it's only a newspaper headline. Something along the lines of 'Nazis attack France' or whatever."

Mr. D looked thoroughly disappointed. "Ah. I see. Not an illegal child then. The pact was made after the second world war." He turned to Chiron. "And are we sure she's one of Poseidon's?"

"I think so. Would you mind demonstrating for Mr. D, Marie?"

"Sure." Marie stood up, backed up a few paces to give herself room, then transformed into a Pegasus. Mr. D stroked his chin and waddled over to her, carefully running his fingers along her legs, back, and wings.

"She's a Pegasus, alright. What can you do with water?" He snapped his fingers and his Coke can turned into a glass of water. Marie changed back, raised her hand, and the water mimicked her movement. Marie guided the water through swirls and spirals in the air, then let it splash softly back into the glass. "Well, well. Better ask your father, then, eh?" Dionysus said. Throwing his head back, he shouted at the ceiling. "Well, what do you think, Poseidon?"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then a faint greenish glow started to appear next to Marie's shoulder. The faint outline of a green trident eventually began to solidify, and Chiron nodded. "She is Percy's sister."

Grover began to clap, and I went over and threw an arm around my sister. "Welcome to the family, Marie." She beamed.

"Percy, go show this girl whatever it is you do here these days," Dionysus said. "I will expect to see you all at six sharp for supper, though."

I nodded respectfully. "Of course, Mr. D."

We left the Big House, Annabeth heading towards the Athena cabin and Grover to the woods to see his girlfriend, the dryad Juniper. I showed Marie the stables, climbing wall, archery grove, the woods, strawberry fields, and the cabins. When we arrived at our cabin, Poseidon's, she gave a gasp of delight.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" She ran her hands along the rough edges of the house.

"Come on inside." I held open the door and she practically skipped in, then stopped dead.

"Who's that?" she whispered timidly. Standing with his back turned to us, a huge person in a flowery apron was dusting off one of the window sills. I immediately knew who it was.

"Tyson!" The figure whipped around at the sound of my voice, his single eye growing wide, his mouth splitting into a yellow smile.

"Percy! It is good to see you!"

"I thought you were at the forges this summer, big guy."

"Me too, but Daddy says that I must wait a least another week. The old sea gods are growing restless and he does not think it is safe yet, especially for a young Cyclopes." He peered at Marie with his big, calf-brown eye. "Who is this? She is very pretty."

"Oh! Marie, this is Tyson. Tyson, Marie. Marie, this is my-our-little brother, Tyson. He's, uh, a Cyclopes."

"I am her brother?" Tyson asked, confused.

"Yes. She was in a bad place for a very long time, but she's actually older than both of us."

"Oh."

Marie, still timid, smiled bravely. "Hi. Sorry for intruding. I like your apron, Tyson."

That immediately won him over. Tyson smiled even wider. "Really? Thank you!" He ran over and gave her hug. I thought for a second I was going to have to save her, because being charged by a baby Cyclopes in a flower apron is pretty scary. But soon I realized she was laughing and hugging him back.

Marie pulled away and looked at me. "So. Do we have any other siblings I should know about?"

"Nope. Just us." I sat down on my bed, and Marie did so on another bunk. Tyson went back to dusting, humming. "Hey, you should show Tyson your Pegasus thing. He loves horses."

Tyson turned. "Pony?"

Marie laughed, showing two rows of perfectly white teeth. "Coming right up!" She changed into a Pegasus and Tyson let out a squeal and clapped his hands.

"Pony!" He cried. "Big pony!" And it was true. She barely fit without hitting her head on the ceiling. Laughing, she changed back.

"Well, then, Percy. What do we do now?"

"Oh, whatever you like. I normally head down to stables or something, but I doubt you need riding lessons." She smirked. "Do you want to head down to the sword area?"

"Sure." She shrugged. "See ya, Tyson!"

"Bye bye pony-girl!" Marie let loose anther musical laugh and followed me out the door. As we walked, I kept explaining things to her, like why the climbing wall kept squirting lava or why there was a giant squid in the canoe lake.

"I can't wait to begin training." She said, waving to some of the naiads in the lake.

"Well, you're in luck, because we're going to start- right now." We had reached the sword arena, where someone had set up several straw-stuffed dummies for practice. She walked over to one of the sword bins and started rummaging through it, hefting one occasionally. I helped her look, but in the end she shook her head.

"I don't like any of these."

"Well, let's go down to the forge. Maybe they have some more over there." The forge wasn't far, and when we stepped in, we were greeted by a blast of heat. The fires were burning full force, and one of my friends, Beckendorf, was making something off to one side. I approached him.

"Hey man."

Beckendorf looked up and grinned. "'Sup, Percy?" Beckendorf was a big African-American guy, over six feet tall and pretty ripped. His chest was broad and his arms were strong from working constantly in the forges. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I need a sword."

He frowned. "What happened to yours?"

"Oh, it's not for me. Meet my new sister, Marie." Beckendorf noticed Marie for the first time and looked stunned, his jaw dropping slightly.

"Oh, uh, right." His eyes never left her face. "Nice to meet you. I'm Beckendorf."

Marie smiled at him, and he looked like he had just won a million gold drachmas. "Nice to meet you, too. You've got a very interesting name."

"Oh," He fumbled. "It's my, uh, last name."

Marie laughed. "That explains it." Her smile was kind. When Beckendorf didn't say anything else, she plowed on. "So, got any swords I can take a look at?"

Beckendorf jumped, startled. "Oh! Right! Come with me." He rounded a corner, checking several times to make sure we were still there. I stifled a laugh. He sure was doing a terrible job of disguising his interest. But I was curious, too. Beckendorf was normally a pretty calm, level-headed kid. I had never seen him like this before. As we stopped and he started to search through a collection of swords on the wall, I took a closer look at Marie. I hadn't really, truly looked at her, especially since I felt that connection. She was my sister. But I tried to turn off my brotherliness and studied her. She had long, thick wavy blonde hair that fell past her shoulders. In the light of the forge, her eyes were the darkest, prettiest shade of blue I had ever seen, and her face was smooth and heart-shaped. She was fairly muscular and tall, and I realized that she very could well be the prettiest girl I had ever seen. Marie could have been one of Aphrodite's daughters.

Beckendorf picked a sword off the wall and handed it to Marie. "Try this one." I noted he had gained his composure, but had puffed out his chest a bit and was running a hand through his hair. Marie took no notice of him and tested the sword. It was celestial bronze, like mine, and around the same length. It was slimmer and smoother though, with a leather bound handle decorated with flowers and a single Pegasus, rearing. It was delicate and deadly.

"Wow. It's perfect. Thank you!" Marie said, then leaned up and kissed Beckendorf lightly on the cheek. I snorted as his expression went from elated to ecstatic. "Look, Percy." She handed the blade to me. It felt perfectly balanced in my hands, though lighter than I was used to.

"Nice pick, Beckendorf." I handed it back to Marie, then looked at her. "Want to go practice with it? I'll teach you a couple things."

"Sounds good."

I nodded to Beckendorf. "See ya later." He smiled distractedly, and we left.

We reached the sword arena again and I grinned slyly at Marie. "Well, he seemed quite taken with you."

She shrugged. "Whatever. Let's do this." After a few minutes of instruction, I watched her decapitate a dummy one-handed with her eyes closed.

"Wow."

Marie grinned back at me. "Thanks. It just feels so. . .so natural."

I nodded in agreement. "That's exactly how it felt my first time holding a sword. And I'm not going to lie, I'm not half bad with one." I withdrew Riptide from my pocket.

Marie had a slightly evil glint in her eye. "Well, then. Have at it." And without waiting for me to uncap Riptide, she launched a powerful blow at my chest. I was barely able to deflect it, the impact leaving my arm shaking. Marie grinned wickedly as she plunged and dipped the sword in and out, the blade flashing like an extension of her arm. I feinted to the left and swung at her arm, which she parried easily. We carried on for what felt like hours, but could have been minutes. I could tell she was tiring quickly, and I was about to offer to stop when she swung recklessly at my sword hand. I recoiled, and her sword clashed with mine, Riptide clattering to the ground.

Marie stood there, chest heaving, looking at me. "Well?"

"That was great. You're amazing. I never have anyone to really challenge me and now- well, I won't have to look for a sword-fighting partner anymore."

Marie gave me her little half-smile. "What about Annabeth?"

"Oh, she's an amazing fighter, but she prefers to stick to her knife." I reached down and picked up Riptide, then capped it. It shrunk back to a pen, and I stuck it in my pocket. "Come on, let's go get ready for dinner."

We had a half-hour, so we both took showers to rinse the dirt and sweat away. By the time I went back to the cabin, Marie was already there. She was dressed in a camp Half-Blood tee shirt and jean shorts, her partially-dry hair hanging in ringlets around her face.

"My trunk's here." She said, her tone surprised. Sure enough, laying by the foot of her bunk was an old steamer trunk filled with clothes and possessions.

"Chiron must have had arranged to come here."

"But how? No one knows that I'm here from my school."

Tyson, whom I hadn't noticed before, was tinkering with some chunks of metal on his bed. "Chiron is magical. Can make anything happen if he wants to."

"Well, come on. Let's head over to dinner." Tyson hopped off his bunk and followed us outside. The summer night air was still very warm and breezy, tossing Marie's hair around. Halfway to the pavilion, Marie froze.

"Oh, Percy, I'm sorry, but I have to go back to the cabin. I forgot something." She turned to go, but I caught her arm.

"What did you forget?"

She blushed violently. "You'll laugh at me."

"No, I won't." I promised. "And Tyson won't either." Tyson nodded solemnly.

"My necklace. It's like, a lucky charm for me. I know it's silly, but I would feel a lot better tonight if I had it."

"You didn't have to be afraid to tell me that." I said, looking her in the eyes. "Come on, I'll go back with you."

Marie looked worried. "But didn't Dionysus say you had to be there on time tonight? I think he'll be more forgiving if it's just me who's late."

"Mr. D is never forgiving." But she had a point. I had promised him I would be there on time.

"I'll catch up to you!" With that, she dashed back towards the cabin.

"Come on, big guy. Let's keep going." Tyson and I entered the dining pavilion and sat down at Poseidon's table. I spotted Annabeth at the Athena table, but she ignored me. I made a mental note to talk to her later. A few minutes later, I noticed the chatter at the other tables had quit and everybody was looking at the entrance. I twisted around and saw Marie walk in, a silver chain now glinting around her neck. As she weaved through the tables to get to me, everyone watched her. She seemed uneasy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Beckendorf give her a small wave. She waved back and for a second, I though the son of the fire god was going to faint. Turns out, Beckendorf wasn't the only male camper captivated by Marie. Connor Stoll promptly fell off the end the bench at the Hermes's table, Pollux, son of Dionysus, choked on his drink, and Malcolm, one of Annabeth's brothers, missed the chair he was trying to sit in and landed on the floor. Nearly all of the girls were looking at her enviously, including Aphrodite's daughters. I watched Annabeth heave her brother off the floor and slam him into a chair, glaring at him.

Marie plopped down on the bench next to me and yawned. "Here."

"I noticed." I said. "And so did everybody else."

She glanced around, concerned. "Percy, why are they all staring at me?"

I shrugged. "You're new. Don't worry about it." I decided to leave out that most of the girls probably wanted to run her through with a sword.

Before we could say anything else, Mr. D stood up and addressed the camp. "Well, I guess I am supposed to introduce all new victims, er, campers, so Mary Whatever-your-last name-is, please stand." I saw Chiron lean over and whisper something in his ear as Marie stood up. "Ah, I mean Marie Pierson." Marie's cheeks flushed slightly, sending a pleasant burst of color onto her cheeks. Then Dionysus did the unthinkable. "For future reference, if you see an unfamiliar Pegasus flying around camp, do not be alarmed, as long as it looks like this. Marie, please demonstrate." Murmuring broke out between the cabin tables. What did he mean by demonstrate? Marie gulped and I leaned forward.

"Marie-"

"Miss Pierson." Dionysus's words were hard, and his eyes flashed. "I said demonstrate." Marie saw the warning in his face, took a deep breath, and did it. The whole pavilion burst into a flurry of yelps, screams, and exclamations at the sight of the beautiful Pegasus. Marie lowered her head and flexed her wings, sighing. "Silence!" Mr. D's words cut over the chaos, and the camp fell into an abnormal quiet. "Miss Pierson, just know that I expect for you to use this. . .this _talent" _he sneered slightly "in a manner that respects the camp and its residents, and that you do not abuse it."

"Of course, Lord Dionysus." The camp members started up again. A talking Pegasus? For real! Dionysus sat down, and Marie changed back to more shrieks. She lowered herself down next to me, hanging her head. I couldn't help but notice the tear trickling down her cheek.

"Marie-" I started.

"Dionysus is a strange god," Tyson cut in. "He can be very good, but at times he can be mean. Do not take it to your heart."

Marie nodded and wiped her face. "You're right, Tyson. I won't." When it came time to give the offerings to the gods, she stood up boldly and walked over to the fires, scraping a portion of her meal into one. I could read her lips as she said our father's name. I followed suit, praying to him that Marie would be able to fit in.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. You promised you'd take me down the sword arena." Marie had been here a week, but it felt like I had known her forever. "Besides, I need extra practice. Tonight's Capture the Flag."

I groaned and rolled over. "Oh, trust me. You're ready."

"But I want to be sure I'm ready!" She pestered. "Please, Percy. I don't want to look like a fool in front of the whole camp. Especially after I've started to make some friends." It was true, she had befriended what seemed to be half the camp, along with collected more than a few admirers.

"Fine." I rolled out of bed, dressed, and in the dim light of the morning we practiced. The clash of our blades were heavy, the sound of metal ripping off of metal made my heart soar. I loved this, and from Marie's expression, she was thinking the same thing. By the time the sun was high overhead, we were drenched in sweat and my sword hand was shaking like a leaf.

"Let's go to breakfast." Marie panted, sheathing her sword.

"Hey, did you talk to Chiron about being a Pegasus during Capture the Flag?" I inquired.

"Yeah. He said it should be just fine."

"So how are you going to carry your sword if you're going to be switching back and forth?"

"Oh, easy. Look. If I have it around my waist-" She gestured, then switched into her alter ego animal, "-it ends up around my neck." Sure enough, the leather belt and sheath were strapped around the Pegasus's broad neck.

"Nice." Marie switched back and gave me a half-hearted smile. "What's wrong?" I asked, surprised at the sudden mood switch.

"Oh, nothing. Except for the fact that half the Athena cabin is coming this way, including Annabeth." I looked up, spotting Malcolm, Annabeth, and a couple of their other siblings. Annabeth saw us and froze, then turned and walked out of the arena as fast as she could. Her sisters and brothers ignored her and went to set up a group of practice dummies. Something with the consistency of lead settled in my stomach. I could feel Marie's eyes watching me, so I put on my brave face. "Go after her, Percy. I know you want to talk to her." I was speechless. "I was going to suggest going back to the cabin anyway. See ya." And with that, she turned and left. Before I could change my own mind, I ran after the dot that was Annabeth's retreating back.

"Annabeth!" I yelled. "Wait!"

Annabeth turned on her heel, and as I got closer, I could see her expression was cold. "What is it, Percy?"

"Annabeth, what's going on? You're constantly avoiding me and refusing to speak to me. I-" I took a deep breath to calm the butterflies that had started to play on the lead stone. "I miss you. A lot."

Annabeth's face softened slightly, but her words still had an edge. "Isn't it obvious? You would much rather spend time with the sister you didn't even know you had up until last week than me. And I'm perfectly okay with that." Her tone told me she so wasn't okay with that.

"Annabeth. You know that isn't true."

"Oh yeah? So what's your wonderful reason, then?" Her silvery gray eyes had turned to stone.

"I'm just trying to help her. She's new." I tried not to sound too desperate.

"Everybody else in camp is trying to, too, so why don't you just let them at her?" I opened my mouth to speak. "No, Percy! Don't make any more excuses! She's gorgeous, she's as good a sword-fighter as you, and she can turn into a big beautiful Pegasus!" She was practically spitting out the words. "Who wouldn't want to be her best friend? Oh, everybody except that crazy girl from the Athena cabin."

"That crazy girl from the Athena cabin happens to be my best friend, so watch how you talk about her." I didn't know where the words came from, but Annabeth's jaw dropped, then she looked sheepish, biting her lip.

"Oh Percy, I- I just. . .well, I'm not going to lie. I've been sorta jealous. You haven't even really talked to me since she got here."

"I'm sorry. I should have put more effort into it, Annabeth, I really should have." I saw her relax slowly, her guard dropping as she exhaled.

"Me too. I'm sorry, Percy." She hugged me, and I hoped I didn't look like Beckendorf did when Marie walked in the room. I was glad she couldn't see my face.

"So, Capture the Flag. I'm thinking the Poseidon cabin would be willing to team up with Athena tonight." I said.

Annabeth grinned at me. "Athena should be okay with that." Her smile drooped slightly, but remained intact. "Does this mean we will have an equine member on our team?" I nodded, and she sighed. "All right then."

"You know, I'm thinking you'll be glad to have her when we actually start. She's a pretty good fighter, and I wouldn't mind riding around all night."

Annabeth smirked. "I doubt she'll piggy-back you through the forest all night. She doesn't seem the type." She glanced at her wristwatch. "Well, I have to go. See you later." And with that, she jogged off, leaving me standing there, feeling like the world had just been lifted off of my shoulders.

The sun was just barely blazing as we met at the outskirts of the forest, the sky hinting strongly at a sunset. Once all the camp cabins were present, Chiron stood up. "Well, good luck to you all. Athena, Poseidon, and Hermes are the blue team, the rest are red. Remember, all animals and magical items are permitted. No maiming or killing. Go!"

The teams sprinted into the forest, blue heading to the left, red to the right. We splashed across a creek and stuck our flag into a rock we called Zeus's Fist, which really looked like a pile of poop.

"Alright!" Annabeth called everyone's attention. "When I say your assignment, go! I want Percy, Marie and Malcolm on defense by the creek. Lee, Connor and-" I tuned out and looked at Marie.

"You ready? Let's go." We sprinted for back to stream and waded in, then stopped just on the other side. I could just barely here Malcolm splashing across a little father upstream, on the left point of our base. Marie's hands rested on her sword hilt.

Suddenly, she turned to me. "Percy! I have an idea. Let me fly above the trees, and if I see anyone coming I'll come back and get you and we can get them." I nodded slowly, and with a flash of light and a spread of wings, she was gone. I stood silently except for the gurgle of the creek, waiting in anticipation. I would be extremely surprised if Marie didn't come back for me, the offense guard for the other team normally used the creek as a rendezvous and crossing point into the our territory. My muscles tensed as I heard a rustle of leaves, but it was just a bird. Where was she? As if in answer, Marie burst through the treetops at high speed, wings beating the air furiously as she splashed to a stop.

"Get on! There's a large group coming!" I vaulted onto her back and with a powerful leap, she was airborne was more. She was biggest, strongest Pegasus I had ever ridden (sorry, Blackjack) and it was exhilarating. "Hold on!" Marie neighed as we plunged back to earth, dodging tangles of branches and thick tree trunks. She landed fairly lightly for such a steep fall and I tumbled from her back, landing on my knees with Riptide firmly in my hand. In front of us was a group of four red team people, smirks on their faces. We were outnumbered, two to one.

_You take those two, I'll handle these. _The voice came out of nowhere, and it sounded an awful lot like Marie.

_We can speak to each other like this? Like with the horses? _I asked.

_Obviously! Now don't just sit there, move! _Marie made the first move, lunging towards one of our opponents with her teeth bared. With a yelp, he scurried out of the way, and I didn't blame him. It was scary enough being attacked by a large horse, so it must be terrifying to be charged by a talking one with wings and a sword strapped to its neck. She caught him at the collar and tossed him into the trees, and we heard him land with a heavy thud. Ears pinned and lost in her swirling mane, she faced the remaining red team. Two of them swung towards her as the third stabbed at me with his sword, and I lurched out of the way, parrying his next attack with Riptide's hilt. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Marie rearing and plunging, easily dominating her two rivals. But I had to focus. I launched a heavy blow at my opponent, which caught him in the arm. He staggered and tripped. I raised Riptide over my head and brought it down on his helmet, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

I went over to help Marie, who had changed back into human form. Her sword dipped and danced, slashing through the red team's clothes, crashing against there armor. They were going to be sore tomorrow. She hit the girl over the head with the blunt side of her blade, and she toppled over like a rag doll. The boy was a bit harder, coming down at awkward, advanced angles that were hard to deflect. Marie managed to keep it together, protecting herself as he gained ground. I crept up behind him and whacked him in the side with my blade, and he collapsed, winded.

_Behind you! _At Marie's warning, I swung around, barely defending a sharp stab from another red team person that had joined the fight. I knocked the knife out of his hand and he tackled me recklessly, Riptide falling into the grass behind me. We wrestled, trying to pin each other, but he was bigger and stronger and was quickly overpowering me.

_I need help! _I sent the message out as loudly as I could. Just as I began to loose hope of Marie receiving it, I felt the boy's weight lifted from my back. I looked up just in time to see Marie, in horse form, haul the boy to his feet and hit him in the stomach with her heavy head. He fell to the ground, clutching his middle and groaning. She started towards him, head low and neck curved, like a snake. He scrambled to his feet and ran back to the red boundary as fast as he could.

_We need to get back to base immediately. _Her voice inside my head was urgent and she swept past me at a gallop. I just barely managed to wrap my arms around her neck as she leaped into the air, wings sweeping wide. She curled her neck around and boosted me onto her back. I wove my fingers through her silky mane and tried not to fall off. Before I knew it, we were diving again, clear over Zeus's Fist and into the battle. Red and blue clashed together, and never in my life here at camp had I seen anything like this for Capture the Flag. _Stay on my back. _The words resounded through my mind as Marie grabbed a kid by the seat of his pants and tossed him into Zeus's Fist.

_Why? _I parried a sword aiming for her flank, then, leaning on her neck, swung out and connected with a girl fighting with Connor Stoll.

_I just want to try fighting together._ There was a crunch as a hoof collided with armor-plated chest.

I didn't protest, deciding that now would be a better time to try than in a real life battle, and stabbed wildly at a girl that dashed by. I missed, but she tripped and stumbled. Marie head-butted her in the back as she fell, ensuring she landed flat on her face. We fought together well, her hooves and my sword, wreaking terror on field. Most of the reds had fled, and the others were on their way when I saw something that made my blood go cold. Annabeth was off to the side, dueling with two reds at the same time, her knife flashing in the growing darkness. Almost in slow motion, I saw one of her rivals raise her sword above her head. Annabeth saw it a split second after I did.

_Annabeth, _I thought to Marie, and immediately she swung around and in one ground-eating stride, we were there. I stood on her back and jumped off, using her momentum to guide me. I landed in front of Annabeth and took the blow, staggering as the blood roared in my ears and dripped across my face.

"Percy!" She cried, somehow parrying another blow, knocking the boy backwards. Marie threw him across the clearing. The last thing I saw was Annabeth, reaching towards me, before everything went black.

**Depending on the reviews, this may or may not stay a oneshot. Again, I wrote this a looong time ago, so please be relatively nice, but all criticism is appreciated! (:**


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